NA LCS Power Rankings | Summer Split 2021 Edition
Following a somewhat disappointing performance at the Mid-Season Invitational, NA teams will have a chance to improve with the start of the League Championship Series Summer Split 2021.
This means that it is time to update our LCS Power Rankings! We are going to take a look at the transfers of each team and see how they stand compared to the others. Without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
10. Golden Guardians
Starting off the list, we have Golden Guardians, once again in last place. After a disastrous spring split (3-15 record), the organization decided to swap out top laner Aiden “Niles” Tidwell and support Leandro “Newbie” Marcos with the players from its Academy team Colin “Solo” Earnest and Jonathan “Chime” Pomponio. The goal is to try out a new roster, hoping that the team can make a better performance than the previous split.
© Golden Guardians / invisalign
Despite these roster swaps, we think that GG has too many things to work on and their players is their biggest weakness. The idea of going with low-cost players with the hope of finding a rising new star paid off last year with Can “Closer” Çelik, but players like him don’t come around that often. It will be another rough split for GG’ fans, who might witness another really poor split.
9. FlyQuest
One of the main problems of the LCS is that there are very clear bottom-tier teams. The main issue is to the aforementioned GG’s case: organizations want to “save” money by hiring rookies or relatively worse players, hoping that they can grow during the split. FlyQuest follows the same line of though to Golden Guardians. They didn’t make changes to the roster so far and are looking to raise their competitive level by working on the synergy between players.
FlyQuest
It is very sad to see players with past highs like Eric “Licorice” Ritchie and Han “Dreams” Min-kook, but they might be past their peak. The new rookies, raised from Academy teams, didn’t impress either.
FlyQuest will try to make it to playoffs: their goal, however, might not be in reach.
8. Immortals
Immortals have made quite a decent impression during spring split, ending with a 7-11 record in 7th place. Considered by many the worst or 2nd worst team before the start of 2021, IMT showed that there is indeed some potential in the players.
Mohamed “Revenge” Kaddoura and David “Insanity” Challe showed that they are LCS-level and this might be the split where the team will reach its best form. Watchout for Immortals: they might be the dark horse for playoffs. Not to mention that they were able to beat some of the top teams as well, so keep an eye on them.
7. Counter Logic Gaming
Out of the bottom teams in the standings, CLG is the one with the biggest pressure of having to deliver. Not being able to make playoffs with two European imports is inexcusable. The Spring Split performance can be forgiven, considering that Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen wasn’t able to play due to Visa restrictions and the overall synergy was hindered.
© Counter Logic Gaming
Now that CLG had time to work on that between splits, CLG must meet the expectations of reaching playoffs will they make it? For us it will be very close: it might be a 4-way battle between IMT, CLG, DG and EG.
6. Dignitas
Speaking of Dignitas, they were the big surprise of spring, managing to end 5th with a very positive record (11-7). Their full domestic team worked really well, showing that they have what it takes to fight for playoffs. They were able to mesh veterans like Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett and Zaqueri “aphromoo” Blackwith the rookies like Max “Soligo” Soong.
Despite the positive results, Dignitas is still a mid-pack team: they weren’t able to win against the higher-placed teams like TL or C9. For this reason, Dignitas is considered the “benchmark”: if you’re able to beat their record, then you’ll likely be in playoffs.
5. Evil Geniuses
EG definitely wished for a better result than a mere 6th place. With players like Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro and Jeong “Impact” Eon-young, their goal was to be a top 3 team. EG had a quite poor Spring and are looking to rebound in the Summer Split.
This is why they decided to make a change to the roster: ADC Matthew “Deftly” Chen left. Replacing him will be the Academy player Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki. Evil Geniuses hope that their new marksman will be able to make an exploit that will take them to where they want to belong. It will be a hard feat, though, considering that there’s a team that committed a lot more to get there.
It remains to be seen how this new roster fares in the upcoming season. We place them just shy out of top four contention.
4. Team Solo Mid
TSM falls into the same category as EG: they were hoping to make it back to the top with a world-class player like Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh. Instead, after a strong regular split, TSM’s performance dropped during playoffs, losing to Team Liquid in a somewhat one-sided series (ended 3-1).
The main issue TSM has is related to their consistency: they do have the peak performance to fight the best but they’re not consistent enough to win. We’re hoping to see TSM bounce back in summer and make an exciting 4-way battle for the top.
3. 100 Thieves
100 Thieves was unquestionably the winner of the off-season. Not only the team hired former LEC mid laner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun, but also the former Head Coach of Cloud9 Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu.
With Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho becoming a resident, 100T had a new import slot that they could fill. The roster is surely upgraded compared to spring and the guidance of Reapered might be what the team needed to become one of, if not, the best team in NA.
All things considered, 100T is the big new contender for the Championship. It might take some time to see the team’s full potential, but we expect them to be up there by the time playoffs come around.
2. Team Liquid
TL was very close to win the Championship during Spring: a cheesy strategy by C9 was what gated them from going to MSI. Nonetheless, TL remains the biggest enemy of Cloud9 and we expect them to continue fighting out for the top spot during summer. Jungler Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmerwill be back and will want to redeem himself following the health issues that made him sat out during the final. He will surely want to help the team get what they missed out in spring.
Nicolaj Jensen / TL
In terms of strength, we think that TL is the most all-rounded team: they have top players in every role and the coaching staff to help them achieve the objectives. Will this be the time TL returns to glory? We will find out in Playoffs.
1. Cloud9
It is to no surprise that Cloud9 is once again at the top of our power rankings. The winner of Spring Split made a debatable showing at MSI: they made it to the Rumble Stage but fell short, losing the possibility of playing in the semifinals. Still, C9 did win against DAMWON Kia, demonstrating that the roster is strong enough to fight against the very best.
There is, though, consistency issues that must be fixed if they will participate at Worlds. The team adressed them by sending Zven over to the Academy team and promoting Calvin “K1ng” Truong as the main ADC. How this new change to the roster impacts the over all strength of the roster remains to be seen.
That being said, Cloud9 is our top team and we expect them to at least make it to LoL Worlds. It’s the best chance NA has at the International Stage and most people are aware of that. Will they deliver?
We’ll find out next week, when LCS will finally start! Remember to watch the beginning of the Summer Split on Saturday 5th June!
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